Assessment of post-harvest fish losses Croaker Pseudotolithus elongatus,(Bowdich,1825),Cat fish Arius heudeloti,(Valenciennes,1840)and Shrimp Nematopalaemon hastatus(Aurivillius,1898)in Ondo State,Nigeria

Olusumbo Adeolu Adelaja,Roslina Binti Kamaruddin,Lee Wen Chiat

School of Economics,Finance and Banking,College of Business,Universiti Utara Malaysia,Malaysia

Keywords:Post-harvest fish losses Small-scale fishermen Food security Livelihood Fish species

ABSTRACT The study assess post-harvest fish losses among three(3)dominant marine fish species along coastal areas of Ondo State,Nigeria.Simple random sampling was used to select 100 fishermen from 5 viable fishing communities along coastal areas of Ondo State while questionnaire was used for data collection.Descriptive statistics shows that small-scale fishing is dominated by males with mean age of 39 years.The fishermen incurred average post-harvest fish losses of 8.15%for croaker,7.76%for cat fish and 7.57%for shrimp respectively.Causes of post-harvest fish losses in the study area includes lengthy duration of fishing cycle,poor handling practices,lack of covering facilities,failure to use ice,lack of storage facilities and lack of good means of transportation.Regression model revealed a statistical signi ficant relationship(P＜0.05)with age,educational level, fishing experience,duration of fishing cycle,storage and transportation facilities against percentage fish losses(Croaker:Pseudotolithus elongatus,Cat fish:Arius heudeloti and Shrimp:Nematopalaemon hastatus).In order to ensure food security,post-harvest fish losses needs to be reduced to the barest minimum.Government should provide adequate infrastructural facilities to the small-scale fisheries sector in order to improve their standard of living and increase their income level.

1.Introduction

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country which is blessed with natural resources and has a population of over 180 millionpeople(Nigerian population,2016).Nigeria comprises of 36 states out of which 9 coastal states shares boundaries with the Atlantic Ocean.Based on estimate,it was discovered that about 25%of the country's population lives across the coastal zone(Omole&Isiorho,2011).Nigeria has coastline of about 900 km with total of 42 000 km2flat area of rock and over inland water bodies of 14 million hectares which is fished by artisanal fishermen(Osagie,2012).In Nigeria, fisheries sector plays a signi ficant role in the economy,as it is an important source of animal protein;not only in Nigeria,but worldwide.Estimate by United Nations indicated that Nigeria's population is likely to exceed 210 million by year 2020 and increase in fish protein demand by extra 700 000 metric tonnes(FAO,2013).Artisanal fisheries is the only fisheries sector that contributes over 80%to the total fish production in the country.Despite this fact,it is so unfortunate that the growth of artisanal fishery industry is threatened by post-harvest fish losses(Bolorunduro,Adesehinwa,&Ayanda,2005;Olusegun&Mathew,2016).According to literature,these losses occur at different level of distribution chain from capture to the finalstageofmarketing(Diei-Ouadi& Mgawe,2011;Kabahenda,Omony,&Hüsken,2009;Mungai,2014;Olusegun&Mathew,2016).Estimate shows that about 30-50%of landed weight of fish catch are lost in this sector(Bolorunduro et al.,2005;Emere&Dibal,2013;Olusegun&Mathew,2016;Tobor,1993).

According to FAO(2010)around 10 to 12 million tonnes are lost annually through spoilage in the whole world while almost 20 million tonnes are discarded at sea.Fishermen are faced by fish spoilage which is one of the several ways of post-harvest fish losses which results to increased poverty(Mungai,2014).Quality loss is as a result of fish which undergoes microbiological decay and eventually leads to loss in market value reducing fishermen/marketers income level.Worth of fish is reduced in financial terms,quality terms as a result of unattractive to consumers and nutritional terms due to less contribution to consumers diet(Geoffrey,1992).

Several studies have revealed that spoilage of fish is as a resultof high temperature which increase microbial activities in the body of fish at various stages of distribution in the tropical countries.Temperature around 20°C gives room for fish spoilage while low temperature of 5°C decelerates bacteria.Fish spoilage signs include changes in texture,colour discoloration,formation of slime on the fish body and detection of off-odours activity(Ababouch,2005;Diei-Ouadi&Mgawe,2011;Mungai,2014).Similarly,when such fish is consumed,it has dangerous effect on human health(Kumolu-Johnson&Ndimele,2011).Also,poor handling practices was revealed to contribute to fish spoilage at the landing site.Postharvest fish losses reduction intervention will make a huge contribution to meeting fish demand,improved fish quality,ensure food nutrition security,increase fishermen's income and improved livelihood(Mungai,2014).To achieve this,this paper assess the extent of post-harvest fish losses for policy implication.

2.Materials and methods

The study was conducted along coastal areas of Ondo State,Nigeria.Ondo State coastal area lies on Latitude 50 50′N-60 09′N and Longitude 40 45′E-50 05′E.Ondo State is situated in southwest of Nigeria with a shoreline of around 80 km running from northwesttosoutheastdirection(Akinwumi,Akinwumi,&Ogundahunsi,2011).This makes Ondo State to be maritime state and was rank among the highest fish producers in the country due to over 50 fishing communities as shown in Fig.1.Coastal area of Ondo State is mainly found in Ilaje Local Government Area(ILGA)with around 50 settlements dispersed around the tributaries of the river that empty straight into the coast(Adebowale,Agunbiade,&Olu-Owolabi,2008).Thelocalgovernmentistowardsthe extreme southernpart of the state.ILGA has the long fishing history dating back to precolonial days.The fish producers are majorly found in the fishing communities along the coastline.The people(natives)are Ilajes and the fishermen are generally male(i.e.husband and male children)while their wives and female children are the processors(Adeparusi,Ajibefun,&Akeremale,2003).

Primary data was used for this study.Well-structured questionnaires were administered to 100 active fishermen through face to face interview.Respondents were simple randomly selected from 5 viable fishing communities(Aiyetoro,Jinrinwo,Araromi sea-side,Enuamo and Okesiri)along the coastal areas of Ondo State.The field study was conducted from March to June,2017 while respondents that were available at the time of the surveywereinterviewed.Prior to commencement ofdata collection,the aim of the research were explained to fishermen and fisheries of ficials.Fishing communities along the coastal areas include Aberoyo,Abereke,Igho,Udigun-Nla,Gbabijo,Holy Centre,Aiyetoro,Araromi,Awoye,Araromi sea-side etc.Extent of postharvest fish losses was calculated for three(3)dominant fish species in the fishing communities which include croaker(Pseudotolithus elongatus),cat fish(Arius heudeloti)and shrimp(Nematopalaemon hastatus)with the aid of load tracking method for loss assessment.

Fig.1.Map showing the fishing communities along coastal areas of Ondo State.Source:http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajrd/2/1/1/index.html

The tools of analysis used for this study are descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 23 software.Use of central tendency comprising of frequency,percentages,mean and standard deviation.The percentage losses was calculated using actual total losses and expected income from each landing sites during the period of study.The extent of post-harvest fish losses for each species were calculated using load tracking method.This method was developed by Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO)and Natural Resources Institute(NRI)of the University of Greenwich for researchers that want to calculate fish losses in a specie and fish production chain.Similarly,Kumar(2012)and Mungai(2014)have used this method for estimating post-harvest losses in Nile perch(Lates niloticus)incurred by fishermen in Lake Victoria,Kenya.The formula for calculating total percentage loss is as follows:

Ward(1996)and Ibengwe and Krist′ofersson(2010)stated the formula for calculating loss as follows:

Multiple regression is used in this study to determine the model fit and contribution of each independent variables to dependent variable.This is used to de fine the outcome of the independent variables(demographic factors,handling practices,storage facilities and transportation system)on the dependent variable(postharvest fish losses).The model is as follows:

years respectively.Similar findings was reported by Kyangwa and Odongkara(2005)and Mungai(2014).The result shows that respondents are still active considering their age due to the nature of their job which takes longer time and more labour.Larger percentage(97.0%)of the fishermenwere married which indicates that more hands were available to assist in the fishing activities.Results indicates that all(100%)the respondents were males.This is in line with Tesfay and Teferi(2017)which simply indicates that fishing is carried out by males only.Findings revealed that most(67%)of the household have within 6-10 people in size while 32%have less than 6 people.This simply shows that respondents have more hands to help in their fishing activities.

Result shows that majority(56%)of the fishermen had secondary education,42%had primary education while 2.0%had no formal education.This implies that they are better informed and will embrace any practices introduced to them.This result was not in line with Omwega,Abila,and Lwenya(2006);Mungai(2014)and Tesfay and Teferi(2017).Their findings shows that majority of fishermen had primary education which is low in education standard.This loweducation level could in fluence level of acceptance of developed handling practices(Onemolease&Oriakhi,2011).Surveycarried out shows that 35%of fishermen had between 10 and 15 years of fishing experience(years)while almost 30%had 16-20 years.All(100%)the fishermen were Christians and Yoruba speaking people by tribe.Result shows that 73%of fishermen do not have any other source of income aside fishing while 27%had other source of income.With respect to membership,81%of fishermen are members of one fish association while 19%do not belong to any fish association.Findings shows that 48%have access to credit facilities while 52%do not have access.It was observed from the survey that 62%of fishermen have had one form of training on fish while 38 have not had any form of training on fish.

Where:

Y-Post-harvest fish losses(percentage value)

β0-Constant

β1-10-Coef ficient of explanatory variables

X1-Age of respondent(years)

X2-Household size(HH size)

X3-Educational level(Edu)

X4-Fishing Experience(years)(Exp)

X5-Duration of fishing cycle(hours)(DFC)

X6-Storage method(ST)

X7-Transportation system(packaging method used)(TR)

£-Error term

3.Results

3.1.Demographic factors

Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics results for the fishermen in the study area.Findings revealed that most(56%)of the fishermen fall between 31 and 40 years while 37%fall between 41 and 50

3.2.Extent of post-harvest fish losses of dominant fish species{croaker(Pseudotolithus elongatus),cat fish(Arius heudeloti)and shrimp(Nematopalaemon hastatus)}along coastal waters of Ondo state

The landed fish by the fishermen was sorted in terms of freshness into best quality and low quality while the selling price and weight of each grade was captured.Based on observation, fishermen use colour and signs to distinguish between good and low quality fish.Signs such as bad smell as a result of spoilage and changes in colourof the gills, fish scales,eyes and texture wereused for fish quality sensory assessment.Low quality fish is noted when the skin or fish flesh turns green in colour,appearance deteriorates and texture becomes soft and whitish.Also,the fish eyes becomes dull and gills turns brown or yellowish brown.

Table 2 shows the descriptive results of extent of post-harvest fish losses.The result shows that captured fish by fishermen falls within the weight of 31-40 kg for croaker(32%),cat fish(29%)and shrimp(26%)respectively.The mean weight of captured fish gives 36.28 kg for croaker,36.15 kg for cat fish and 37.27 kg for shrimp respectively.Majority of the fishermen(99%,76%and 57%)sells their captured fish(croaker,cat fish and shrimp)within the price range of₦301($0.84)to ₦600($1.67)respectively.The mean priceof fish is ₦370($1.03)per croaker,₦342.50($0.95)per cat fish and₦683($1.89)per shrimp individually.About 43 percent and 36 percent fishermen states that their expected income ranges within₦10,001($27.78)to ₦15,000($41.66)from sales of croaker and cat fish while 65 percent of fishermen states that above₦20,000($55.55)is realised from sales of shrimp if fish are of good quality in the study area.Croaker mean income is₦13,511.77($37.53),cat fish mean income is₦12,455.50($34.59)and shrimp income is₦25,672($71.31)respectively.Around 50 percent,88 percent and 84 percent of the fishermen experience low quality fish below 6kg per catch per day of croaker,cat fish and shrimp respectively.

Table 1 Demographic factors of respondents(n=100).

Furthermore,about 61 percent and 55 percent of the fishermen sells their low quality fish(croaker and shrimp)at reduced price ranges between ₦151($0.42)to ₦200($0.55)while 55 percent of the fishermen sells low quality cat fish at a reduced price between₦101($0.28)to ₦150($0.42).Fishermen states that for low quality of croaker and cat fish,around 59 percent and 56 percent of them lose between the amount of₦500($1.38)to ₦1000($2.78)while 27 percent fishermen suffers financial loss between₦1001($2.78)to₦1500($4.17)on shrimp.Similarly,22 percent of fishermen experience financial losses between ₦1501($4.17)to ₦2000($5.55)of shrimp.The mean value for financial losses experienced by fishermen for croaker,cat fish and shrimp is ₦1013.28($2.81),₦880.52($2.45)and₦1843($5.12)respectively.Overall,differences in the financial losses occur among the fish species.According to Siddique,Biswas,Salam and Islam(2014)opine that fish losses have adverse effect on the income derived.Equally,Adam,Al-hassan and Akolgo(2016)stated that level of post-harvest fish losses in the fishing communities determines the income level of the fishers.

From the findings,27 percent,34 percent and 28 percent of the fishermen experienced percentage losses per catch per day between 6 and 10 percent in croaker,cat fish and shrimp species respectively while 27 percent,34 percent and 28 percent of the fishermen experienced percentage losses between 1 and 5 percent.According to Akande and Diei-Ouadi(2010)posited that different losses occur in various fish species landed at the several landing sites in Uganda,Kenya and Tanzania.Likewise,Diei-Ouadi and Mgawe(2011)opine that greatness of post-harvest fish losses differs from one country to another due to fish prices,different fish species, fish handling practices and different percentage loss level in the landing site.Findings from this study highlighted that lack of ice boxes for proper storage of fresh fish on board after hauling of fishing net and unsuitable fish handling method are the causes of losses.

Result shows that percentage total losses per catch per day experienced by fishermen is 8.15%for croaker,7.76%for cat fish and 7.57%for shrimp.This implies that fish losses still occur at the landing site though not much in the study area.During discussion with the fishermen,they opine that they normally experience huge losses years back because they spend longer hours during fishing trip and this affected their income level.Presently,they have reduced their fishing trip to 11-14 h maximum since they do not have access to ice blocks in order to protect their fish catch and cannot afford to keep losing their fresh fish after the stress and running cost such as fuel,lubricant,oil,maintenance and food for crew(₦11,020/$30.61 per trip per day)incurred during fishing trip.The fishermen claimed they are more knowledgeable in fishing activities and know when to set and hauling of fishing nets by studying the movements of the fishes and do not waste time to transport their fish from the fishing groundtothe landing site.They also ensure that higher percentages of their catches are sold immediately at the landing site while the left overs are processed.

3.3.Causes of post-harvest fish losses

This section presents the discoveries of the survey conducted with the fishermen in the study area.This exercise was facilitated bythe need tounderstand the issues onpost-harvest fish losses and to have in depth knowledge on the problem faced by fishermen for adequate policy intervention.Various items were compiled by the researcher for adequate investigation from the fisher by rating accordingly using 5-point likert scale(disagree,agree,neutral,strongly disagree and disagree).According to Nenna and Ugwumba(2014),5-point likert scale was used to identify level of severity of problem and a mean score of 3.0 was used as a baseline.This simply indicates that any mean value that is higher than 3.0 are causes ofpost-harvest fish losses which needs to be addressed while any mean value below 3.0 is counted as not a cause of post-harvest fish losses.The mean score is determined thus:

Table 2 Descriptive statistics for magnitude of post-harvest losses of croaker,cat fish and shrimp.

Xsof each was computed by multiply the frequency of each response pattern with its appropriate nominal value and dividing the sum with the number of respondents to the items.This can be summarized with the equation below

Where;

Xs=mean score

Ʃ=Summation

f=frequency

n=Likert nominal value

nr=Number of respondents

Based on findings in Table 3,duration of fishing cycle to landing site leads to losses,delays in hauling nets result in poor-quality fish resulting to quality loss,use of chemicals in fishing affects the safety and quality of fish posing threat to consumers'health,exposing of fish to high temperature creates favourable conditions for fish spoilage leading to quality loss and affecting price,poor handling practices during unloading of fish causes quality losses,lack of covering facilities for fresh fish at the landing site to prevent excess sunlight,failure to use ice and containers result in poor quality fish,insect infestation and animal predation on fresh fish leads tolosses,lackof storage facilities toensuregoodqualityof fish can lead to losses,lack of good means of transportation for effective movement of fresh fish,unexpected demand and supply situations can affect price and inadequate dissemination of market information can lead to selling of fish at a lower price resulting to market loss are all causes of post-harvest fish losses while discarding of bycatch at sea because fish is too small or not valuable enough to land for sale, fishing gear used by the fishermen causes quality loss, fishspoil easily if not preserved properly with ice during fishing and high post-harvest fish losses occur during rainy season were not causes of post-harvest fish losses.

Table 3 Causes of post-harvest fish losses.

Table 4 Cross-tab showing relationship between demographic factors with percentage fish losses.

3.4.Relationship between demographic factors and percentage fish losses

Table 4 present the cross-tabulation showing relationship between demographic factors and percentage fish losses.Age crosstabulation count indicates that out of 56%of fishermen between ages of 31-40 years,25%had between 10%and 20%of fish losses,13%experience between 21%and 30%of fish losses while the remaining 18%experience above 30%of fish losses.Out of 37%of fishermen between 41 and 50 years,13%of them had between 10%and 20%of fish losses,17%had between 21%and 30%of losses while 7%experience above 30%losses.Result shows that age is statistically signi ficant(χ2=13.809)with percentage fish losses.Household size cross-tabulation count indicates that out of 67%of fishermen between 6 and 10 people per household,23%had between 10 and 20% fish losses,26%had between 21 and 30% fish losses while 18%had above 30% fish losses.This simply shows that household size is not statistically related(χ2=3.408)with losses.Educational status cross-tabulation result simply shows that there is statistical relationship(χ2=10.725)to percentage of fish losses.Out of 57%of fishermen that had secondary education,18%of experience fish losses between 10 and 20%,26%had between 21 and 30% fish losses while 13%had above 30%losses.There is signi ficant relationship(χ2=15.771)between fishing experience withpercentage fish losses.

Table 5 Coef ficient table.

3.5.Linear regression model on effect of demographic factors,handling practices,storage facilities and transportation system with percentage fish losses

The regression model was statistically signi ficant at alpha level 0.005(P=0.000)and F value of 43.25.Value of Adjusted R2indicates that 77.35%of the variance in post-harvest fish losses can be described by the independent variables.From Table 5,age of fishermen, fishing experience(EXP),education(Edu),duration of fishing cycle(DFC),storage(ST)and transportation(TR)were statistically signi ficant(P＜0.05).This simply indicates that null hypothesis(Ho)is rejected while alternative hypothesis(Ha)is accepted.The coef ficient parameters simply shows that for every unit increase or decrease in independent variables,the dependent variable either increases or decreases.Increase of one year in smallscale fishermen's age,reduces post-harvest fish losses by0.05%.The more fishermen increase in age,they become more experienced in tackling post-harvest losses issue.As small-scale fishermen increase by one year fishing experience,post-harvest fish losses reduce by0.2%.The moreeducated the small-scale fishermen is,the more losses reduce by 0.02%.

4.Discussion

Post-harvest fish losses are serious issue faced by the smallscale fisheries and threatening the growth of the sector.In order to determine the causes and extent of losses,questionnaire loss assessment method(QLAM)and load tracking loss assessment method was used to estimate post-harvest fish losses in the study area.This method was introduced by Ward and Jeffries(2000)through a manual for assessing post-harvest fisheries losses.Findings revealed that mean percentage of fish losses for the three(3)dominant marine fish species;Croaker,Cat fish and Shrimp at the landing site in the study area are 0.815%,7.76%and 7.57%respectively.This simply shows that post-harvest fish losses has reduced compared to what is stated in the literature(Adeyeye&Oyewole,2016;Bolorunduro et al.,2005)that post-harvest fish losses amount to 30%-50%after landing.Despite the slight reduction,measures still needs to be taken to ensure reduction to the barest minimum.Small-scale fishermen needs to be provided with ice blocks and good storage facilities to keep their fresh fish in good quality.From observation carried out at the study area,it was discovered that the artisanal fishermen were more knowledgeable and skilful in the fishing activities business thereby they know when to set and remove their nets.They also ensure that higher percentages of their catches are sold.Furthermore,in other to meet up with the fishing expenses,they protect their fish catch to maintain good quality.Since fishermen do not have provision for ice blocks,they ensure that they spend 12h during fishing trip in other for the fish catch to be transported on time tothe landing site.This view is supported by the findings of Nguvava(2013)and Mungai(2014)among others.

According to survey and observations carried out in the study area,reasons for post-harvest fish losses include duration of fishing cycle to landing site leads to losses,delays in hauling nets result in poor-quality fish resulting toqualityloss,use of chemicals in fishing affects the safety and quality of fish posing threat to consumers'health,exposing of fish to high temperature creates favourable conditions for fish spoilage leading to quality loss and affecting price,poor handling practices during unloading of fish causes quality losses,lack of covering facilities for fresh fish at the landing site to prevent excess sunlight,failure to use ice and containers result in poor quality fish,insect infestation and animal predation on fresh fish leads to losses,lack of storage facilities to ensure good quality of fish can lead to losses,lack of good means of transportation for effective movement of fresh fish,unexpected demand and supply situations can affect price and inadequate dissemination of market information can lead to selling of fish at a lower price.Findings of this result is in agreement with other literature(Bataringaya,2007;Nguvava,2013;Mungai,2014;Tesfay&Teferi,2017)that infrastructures contributes to post-harvest fish losses.Furthermore,delay in hauling of nets as a result of long duration of fishing cycle are also part of causes of losses while high temperature was seen as one of the natural cause for losses in the study area.Findings revealed that age,educational level and fishing experience are statistically signi ficant to post-harvest fish losses.This simply indicates that the higher the educational level or well learned the fishermen are,the lesser the post-harvest losses.Level of education will help them to adopt good handling practices to reduce fish losses.Similarly,age and fishing experience indicates that level of experience will help the fishermen to handle properly their fishing business.

5.Conclusion

Findings shows that the fisheries sectorof the studyarea is faced by post-harvest fish losses which is as a result of lack of infrastructural facilities.Previous literature have stated that role of infrastructural facilities cannot be underestimated in the artisanal fisheries sector.It has been observed that despite artisanal fishermen putting in the necessary practices to ensure decrease in postharvest fish losses and infrastructures are lacking,no positive result can be achieved.Infrastructural facilities such as electricity,construction of good road network and storage facilities should be provided.Once all these are provided,the fishermen will be able to maintain good quality of fish which in turn attracts good price and increase their income level.Government is therefore beseeched to pay more attention to the artisanal fishermen by providing adequate infrastructures that will help to maintain the quality of fish catch which will improve their income and livelihood.